Section 141 punishes importing into India, from any country outside India, a girl under twenty-one or
a boy under eighteen, with intent or knowledge that the girl or boy will be forced or seduced into
illicit intercourse, with imprisonment up to ten years and fine.
Please note: This page reflects our understanding of the law as of the date it was
last reviewed. Parliament, the State Legislatures, and the courts continue to amend and interpret
this law, and this page may not yet reflect the most recent change. Please verify the current text
of the law independently, and consult a licensed advocate for advice on your own matter, before
relying on this page.
Corresponding Provision Under Prior Law
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan
Portal), which maps Section 141 to old IPC Section 366B, and cross-checked directly against the
bare text of both Acts.
BNS section
IPC, 1860 equivalent
Category
141
366B
Substantively changed
Old IPC Section 366B protected only "any girl under the age of twenty-one years." This section
extends the same protection to "any boy under the age of eighteen years" in addition to girls under
twenty-one — a genuinely new protected class not present in old IPC Section 366B, whose text
contains no equivalent provision covering boys imported from a foreign country. The girl-specific
protection (under twenty-one) and the punishment (imprisonment up to ten years and fine) are
carried over. A second difference: the local copy of old IPC Section 366B also covers importation
“from any country outside India or from the State of Jammu and Kashmir”; this section
refers only to importation “from any country outside India,” and the words about the State
of Jammu and Kashmir do not appear. The pronoun “she” in the old text also becomes
“girl or boy.”
Quick Reference
Per the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023: punishable with imprisonment for 10 years and fine (the statute itself: imprisonment up to ten years, and fine) — cognizable, non-bailable, and triable by the Court of Session.
Statutory Text (Verbatim)
Whoever imports into India from any country outside India any girl under the age of twenty-one years or any boy under the age of eighteen years with intent that girl or boy may be, or knowing it to be likely that girl or boy will be, forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person, shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Explanation & Illustration (Lexovia's Commentary — Not Statutory Text)
Importing a girl or boy for forced or seduced illicit intercourse
Explanation (Lexovia's Commentary)
This section targets the act of bringing a girl under twenty-one, or a boy under eighteen, into
India from another country, where the person doing so intends, or knows it likely, that the girl or
boy will be forced or seduced into illicit intercourse with someone else. The offence is complete on
importation with the requisite intent or knowledge — it does not require that the illicit
intercourse actually take place.
Illustration (Lexovia's Own Example)
A brings a seventeen-year-old girl into India from a neighbouring country, knowing it likely that
she will be forced into illicit intercourse once in India. A is liable under Section 141, whether
or not the intercourse ultimately occurs.
Section 140 (Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder or for ransom, etc.) and the sections
following this one, which deal with wrongful concealment or confinement of a kidnapped or abducted
person and related offences.
FAQs
Does this section cover a boy imported into India for this purpose?
Yes. Unlike the old law, which protected only girls under twenty-one, this section also covers
a boy under eighteen years of age imported into India with the requisite intent or knowledge.
Does the illicit intercourse have to actually happen for this offence to apply?
No. The offence is complete once the girl or boy is imported with the intent, or the knowledge
that it is likely, that they will be forced or seduced into illicit intercourse — the
intercourse itself does not have to occur.
Why are the age thresholds different for girls and boys under this section?
The section itself sets the threshold at under twenty-one years for a girl and under eighteen
years for a boy; these age thresholds are carried over largely from the pre-existing girl-specific
protection, now extended to boys at a different specified age.
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